Offered by Oxfam GB [Great Britain], this 14-page paper shows how Colectiva de Mujeres Hondureñas (CODEMUH), a grassroots women's collective in Honduras, mobilised a popular movement around labour rights in the country's textile factories, or maquilas. Focusing on occupational health, CODEMUH ran a campaign to demand respect and protection of labour rights which included: research, training, and advocacy workshops for the women themselves; building alliances locally, nationally, and internationally; and involving key journalists and the media. The paper explains the challenges and the strategies used to overcome them. It also outlines the lessons learned when women have greater capacity to advocate for changes in policy and practice at corporate and national levels.
The initial portions of the document situate the reader by exploring: the poverty that has fueled the growth of the maquila sector; the vulnerability of maquila workers to poor labour conditions and rights violations; health implications for women working in the maquilas; and the lack of recourse for those who dare to defend workers' rights. "Because the government promotes employment policies based on cheap labour, labour-rights legal frameworks have been reformed in alignment with private-sector interests to reduce production costs and increase productivity. This means that much less public attention is paid to working conditions and little support is given to internationally recognised labour rights such as freedom of association and health and safety protocols. Public institutions usually responsible for the protection of workers’ rights have been weakened because their resources have been cut and their functions and responsibilities restructured. Honduras not only lacks proper national frameworks to ensure fair and decent labour practices, but also fails to promote the effective eradication of gender discrimination in the workplace."
It is in this context that CODEMUH - "Collective of Honduran Women" - emerged as a feminist grassroots movement in the urban area of Choloma in the late 1980s. Over the years, CODEMUH prioritised women's rights in the areas of labour, sexual and reproductive health, and gender violence. This network of maquila workers and other women who have direct experience of the unfair conditions and disadvantages of working in the factories helps to organise working women, strengthening their self-esteem and confidence. It provides counselling and support on an individual and collective basis, and holds workshops and training sessions in neighbourhoods and even inside the maquilas. On the advocacy side, it researches, writes, and publishes information and supports women whose rights have been violated by taking their claims either to the maquila responsible, or to court.
As detailed here, an internal training programme was implemented in 2004 which aimed to enhance the skills of women members who had shown potential in leading lobby activities, dealing with the press, or negotiating with maquila owners or public authorities. This "Advocacy School" combined workshops and fieldwork to apply tools and knowledge on lobbying and advocacy work. While working to build the skills of 25 women, the school also generated institutional debate about CODEMUH's vision and agenda for the future. Volunteers and activists who were working in the maquilas participated in other workshops, mainly at the weekends, or during the night when they were not working.
Two of the outcomes of this training process were the development of a 3-year advocacy strategy, and the organisation of an advocacy team formed by 7 women to shape and implement CODEMUH's campaign on occupational health. The campaign aimed to raise awareness and influence maquila owners, public institutions, the media, and society in general about women's working conditions and respect for human and labour rights. CODEMUH wanted working women to see themselves as key agents of social and economic development. It also aimed to enhance their capacity to air their views and demand respect for their rights, particularly regarding health and safety conditions in the factories.
Launched in 2004, the campaign was implemented in 4 phases. First, CODEMUH developed research to provide evidence of health and safety-related risks at work and to support the advocacy agenda. In the second phase, the results of these studies were presented to the public and a two-fold lobbying strategy was delivered that specifically addressed decision-makers in the government and the private sector. CODEMUH also worked to develop a more solid relationship with key journalists from local and national media. At this point the campaign had gained support from at least 5 civil society organisations, including labour unions and some faith-based groups. Together they formed the Alianza para la Protección Laboral ("Alliance for Labour Rights Protection"). The campaign was also linked to a labour rights regional campaign bringing together women workers' organisations from 5 Central American countries and to the global Make Trade Fair Campaign on Women's Labour Rights.
On Labour Day (May 1) 2006, CODEMUH joined unions in the traditional march through the streets of major Latin American cities. CODEMUH also decided to give a speech at the march in San Pedro Sula in north Honduras to send out a message not only to maquila owners but also to society as a whole about working conditions inside maquilas and the impact on women's rights, particularly on occupational health. "This attracted a lot of attention from the media and society. Historically, the march had been dominated by male trade unionists. CODEMUH's group turned out to be the largest and best-organised representation..." CODEMUH continued to participate in public demonstrations in 2007 and 2008.
In the third phase, key campaign messages were disseminated by means of radio spots and newspapers. There were educational and mobilisation activities at community level with women working in maquilas. Thirty-four new community groups were given the skills to communicate their messages and participate in the different activities. Workshops continued to be held with wider audiences to share the findings of the research and raise awareness about human and labour rights in the garment sector. In the last phase, media coverage was monitored to assess to what extent the approach of the media had changed and what key stakeholders were saying about women's labour rights in the apparel industry.
According to the author, "[b]y looking at the media coverage and monitoring people's participation in radio programmes, televised debates, and workshops, it was obvious that the campaign had increased public attention to occupational health issues in the maquilas." CODEMUH carried out surveys and reflection sessions with women workers and allies to explore to what extent the campaign has helped to influence collective ideas and beliefs regarding labour rights. Specific examples are offered on pages 8-9 of the document; because changing policy is slow (especially when state institutions are weak), "[m]any of the positive outcomes of the work concern changes in the ideas and beliefs of various stakeholders, from working women who now know more about their rights and are willing to say when they are being violated, to public officials who are more responsive to women's demands, as well as government and the private sector who recognise organisations such as CODEMUH as valid and legitimate groups that give voice to women in defence of their rights."
An excerpt from the Recommendations section follows:
- "Advocacy work on women rights, either at local or national level, will eventually lead to interaction with male-dominated structures....Therefore, any advocacy-training programme for women's organisations needs to be aware that building women's confidence and leadership skills and ensuring that their voices are heard is as important as developing technical skills and knowledge. This can often be done by also building the capacity of local-level groups.
- ...[O]rganisations working in developing advocacy capacities can increase their effectiveness if they look at individual skills and potential capacities to complement each other and achieve a mix of strengths within the group. For example, women may not want to speak in public, but could be very persuasive as lobbyists.
- Analysis of context, power, and media coverage should be undertaken regularly to measure to what extent advocacy and campaign strategies are effective and to what extent changes are taking place.
- Advocacy on women's rights needs to incorporate strategies to influence ideas and beliefs. Mass media can play an effective role in changing the way society understands women's issues.
- Media attention to issues tends to be brief, so it is very important to understand who sets the daily information priorities and how, as well as what a journalist needs in terms of content, contacts, and time to produce a press or radio piece.
- Advocacy for women's rights needs to integrate not only women's voices and stories from within the movement, but also from other sectors in society. Mobilising other women to air their views, even if they were not maquila workers, proved to be a very powerful way to influence public opinion.
- ...Understanding the added value of an alliance is very important in order to judge its effectiveness and relevance. It is also important to understand when these alliances are not working, and to have strategies planned for disengagement, to reduce risks.
- Strong and sound research carried out by qualified researchers and institutions is very important to back proposals but also to build an effective relationship with key allies, particularly with journalists and other media stakeholders.
- Besides building technical capacities, international NGOs [non-governmental organisations] can play a very significant role in building links with civil society, governments, and private-sector stakeholders inside and outside the country.
- Women's-rights advocacy work can be a long-term process. Funding organisations need to be prepared to support and accompany them beyond the project itself."
